Data processing service providers often simultaneously provide services to a number of different users by utilizing a large area network. For example, computer equipment can be located and maintained efficiently at one or more remote data centers that can be interconnected with on-site workstations at various user facilities through such a network. Such data processing service providers generally have the responsibility for providing adequate computing capacity to the users, and for maintaining and ensuring the maximum availability of computer systems on a day-to-day basis.
Such data processing services can be provided to organizations involved in a wide variety of activities. For example, services can be simultaneously provided to manufacturers, transportation system operators such as, for example, airlines or railways, financial institutions, governmental institutions, etc.
There are special problems associated with providing data processing services in multi-user service systems. Most such users tend to use computer equipment of their own choosing prior to turning the data processing job over to a service provider. Thus, the monitoring equipment needed by a service provider to check on the operating condition of the equipment used by each customer will generally be different.
This state of affairs can create a problem which impedes the service provider from achieving the maximum economy possible from centralized monitoring of the systems being serviced.
In general, in order to maximize efficiency and lower operating costs, data service system operators and managers would simultaneously monitor the performance of the data processing operations of two or more different customers. However, the proliferation of different types of monitoring equipment used by the various customers can make this a very difficult to accomplish.
Some service providers, whose primary source of income is the manufacture and/or sales of computer and monitoring equipment tend to replace the self-chosen equipment of new customers with their own products. While this can achieve a certain measure of standardization, it does so at a very substantial cost to the customer.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to alleviate or resolve the foregoing problems. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for providing data processing services to multiple users at a relatively low cost of new equipment for new service customers.
It is another object of the invention to provide a system and method for providing data processing services with increased efficiency of operating and management personnel, as well as of customer personnel.
Often, data processing service customers desire to have more than one data processing service provider at the same time. This, in the eyes of such customers, promotes competition between the service providers to do a better job, reduces costs, and has other perceived advantages. However, an additional problem is caused by such an arrangement.
The monitors, formats and screens used by one service provider will usually be quite different from those used by another provider. Thus, the information given to the customer on its monitors regarding the operation of each of the two data processing systems will be in different formats, and on different equipment. This requires increased amounts of learning time for employees to become familiar with the differing equipment and formats. Therefore, the customer and, to the extent that one service provider sees information sent to the other, the service providers themselves, suffer. The information they need is not provided efficiently.
Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a data processing service system and method in which multiple service providers can provide information to their personnel and/or their customers in a standardized format. In providing data processing services, it is common to provide “help desk” services to each customer, by means of which the customer can report service outages and have their computers and systems repaired and their service restored. Thus, another object of the invention to keep computer downtime to a minimum and the availability of computer systems to the customer at a maximum.
One of the measures of performance used to determine the quality of service is the “mean time to repair.” That is, the mean of the various times required to repair service outages over a given calendar period of time. It is another object of this invention to reduce the mean time to repair.
Another measure for determining quality of service is the “mean time between failures.” That is, the mean time separating service failures over a given time period. It is another object of the invention to reduce the mean time between failures.
A further measure of performance is the volume of calls made to the help desk by the customer. It is thus a further object of the invention to provide data processing system operational information in a more accessible form so as to enable better planning and reduce help desk call volumes.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in or apparent from the following description and drawings.